SF Bay Fishing Report: Stripers, Crab, and Halibut in the Mix for Fall Anglers

This is your November 5th San Francisco Bay fishing report from Artificial Lure, covering action from the piers to the Pacific Gate. It’s a cool, foggy Bay Area morning, with patchy mist lingering through sunrise at 6:40 AM. Winds are set to build from the northwest this afternoon, so get your lines in early if you want calm water and the best bite. With sunset at 5:06 PM, the top windows are dawn and dusk, especially alongside today’s strong tidal swings—high amplitude means the currents will churn up bait and boost predator action, perfect for local anglers of all stripes, literally and figuratively, as reported by Tides4Fishing and Fishingreminder.

Tide today is running hot: a tidal coefficient of 104 at sunrise rolling to 106 around noon. Big tides bring big current, and that’s when the stripers get fired up. Working the edges at Crissy Field, Fort Point, or the Embarcadero piers during those moving tides, you’ll find schoolie striped bass slashing bait balls close to shore. Best hardware right now is a 3- to 5-inch paddle-tail swimbait or bucktail jig, cast right into the current seam. If you’re heading out with fresh or cut anchovy, expect some quality bites—anchovy remains the classic for a reason, backed up by consistent catches reported out of Fish Emeryville and NorCal Fish Reports.

Rockfish and Dungeness crab are the headliners offshore and in deeper Bay channels. Party boats working from Berkeley, Emeryville, and San Francisco reported easy limits yesterday—California Dawn, Sea Wolf, New Huck Finn, and Bass-Tub all came back with full crab pots (10 per angler) and sacks stuffed with rockfish. Lingcod are popping in small numbers but with some heft, especially if you’re bouncing a large swimbait, rubbertail jig, or octopus-tipped setup near rocks and reefs.

Halibut are still in the mix but the bite is hit-or-miss—try slow-trolled herring-pattern plugs or drifted tray anchovy, especially if you see birds working a bait school inside the Central Bay. At night, leopard sharks and big bat rays are always a kick for pier and kayak folks; squid and oily cut mackerel do the trick, fished on simple sliding rigs near flats, channel edges, and pier pilings.

For the surf contingent, barred surfperch are feeding in the first troughs at Ocean Beach and Baker Beach—gulp-style sandworms and grubs on a Carolina rig score best. Dress for spray and watch the set; an incoming tide plus a little churn will move these fish up tight.

Hot spots today:
- Crissy Field & Fort Point: Stripers and the odd halibut early.
- Emeryville Flats: Dungeness crab and leopard shark, with a drop shot for halibut.
- Baker Beach: Surfperch just into the trough with sandworms.

Weather is staying gray and breezy come afternoon, so layer up and plan for a quick chill once the wind picks up. Water temps are still in the mid-50s; use just enough weight to tap bottom but not get buried—staying in contact with your lure is key when the tide rips through.

To sum up: Striped bass and crab are strong, rockfish and lingcod are steady on party boats, and there’s a window for halibut if you time the tide right. Anchovy and swimbaits are the tickets, with squid and sandworms for sharks and perch. Watch the tides, move with the bait, and pay attention to birds—they’ll point you to the fish, every time.

Thanks for tuning in—this is Artificial Lure with your San Francisco Bay fishing fix. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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